Ladle



R. R. RADER 3,404,910

LADLE Filed Nov. 1. 1966 INVENTOR. Rosem- R. RADER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,404,910 LADLE Robert R. Rader, Port Huron, Mich., assignor to Wirtz Manufacturing Co., Inc., Port Huron, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,250 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-257) This invention relates to a ladle for molten metal and more particularly to an overflow type of ladle wherein metal is adapted to be discharged from the ladle by overflowing a pouring lip when additional metal is supplied to the ladle.

Ladles of the above described type are often used in machines for casting lead battery grids. In such machines lead is pumped from a lead pot to the ladle as successive charges which are timed to cause successive predetermined amounts of molten lead in the ladle to overflow the pouring lip of the ladle and discharge into the grid casting mold. Such ladles are normally provided with a cover to minimize the formation of dross, etc. in the ladle. However, ladles of this type must of necessity be cleaned from time to time and such cleaning requires removal of the cover. It is necessary to secure the cover on the ladle so that it seals with the ladle and prevents the escape of molten lead around the edges of the cover. Accordingly, it has been common practice to secure such covers on ladles by means of screws and other similar threaded fastening devices. The use of threaded fastening devices for securing the cover on the ladle renders the operation of removing the cover a diflicult and time consuming one.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ladle and cover construction incorporating a cover securing means designed to produce a tight engagement of the cover on the ladle but which at the same time are designed to permit quick removal of the cover in a simple manner.

'In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view, partly in section, of a ladle and cover assembly according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the arrangement illustrated'in FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view of the ladle and cover arrangement.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary end view of the ladle with a portion broken away.

The ladle of the present invention comprises a receptacle having a bottom wall 12, two end walls 14, a front wall 16 and a rear wall 18. The ladle is rectangularly shaped and the upper edges of end walls 14 and rear wall 18 are co-planar. Rear wall 18 is provided with a generally centrally located inlet port 20 which registers with the bore of an inlet fitting 22 welded or otherwise secured to the rear wall 18. Fitting 22 is threaded as at 24 for connection with an inlet pipe 26. Inlet pipe 26 extends from a pump adapted to pump molten lead from a lead pot to ladle 10. Front wall 16 has its inner upper edge curved as at 28 and terminates along its free upper edge in a narrow pouring lip 30. Within receptacle 10 there is arranged an upright baffle 32 which is located in alignment with the inlet port 20 and spaced forwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 3. Bafile 32 prevents the lead admitted to the ladle through inlet pipe 26 from surging directly toward the front wall 16.

The upper open end of ladle 10 is adapted to be closed by a cover generally designated 34. Cover 34 in the illustrated embodiment is formed of several pieces of steel bar stock. If desired, cover 34 can be formed as a casting. In the illustrated arrangement the cover includes a flat top plate 36 which is dimensioned in length such that when placed on the ladle it extends laterally outwardly as at 38 beyond the opposite end walls 14. Top plate 36 is 3,404,910 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 dimensioned in width so that with the rear edge thereof resting upon the upper edge of rear wall 18, the forward edge of the cover is spaced rearwardly from the pouring lip 30 at the upper edge of front wall 16. A base plate 40 is secured to the underside of top plate 36 by screws 42. Base plate 40 is dimensioned in length so that it fits closely between the inner faces of end walls 14. Base plate 40 is of less width than cover plate 36 and is arranged to provide a lip 44 along the rear edge of the cover which is adapted to rest upon the upper edge of rear wall 18. Along the forward edge of top plate 36 and on the bottom side thereof there is arranged a depending baffle bar 46 which extends below the bottom face of base plate 40 and along the forward edge thereof. The front face of bafile bar 46 is aligned vertically with the front edge of cover plate 36. A handle 37 is secured to cover plate 36 to facilitate manipulation of the cover.

A clamping bar 48 extends the full length of rear wall 18 and projects above the upper edge thereof. Along the front side of clamping bar 48 there is formed an inclined surface 50 which is beveled at an angle of about 45. The beveled face 50 is adapted to engage a similarly beveled face 52 along the rear upper edge of the lip 44 on cover plate 36. Beveled faces 50, 52 are disposed such that when cover 34 is shifted rearwardly on the ladle to a position where faces 50, 52 are interengaged, there is a small clearance 54 between the rear edge of cover plate 36 and clamping bar 48 to assure a downward pressure on cover 34.

Cover plate 36 has the opposite end portions of its front edge beveled as at 56. At each end of ladle 10 there is mounted a wedge clamping block 58. Each block 58 is generally of rectangular shape and is mounted on the respective end wall 14 of the ladle in a position inclining upwardly and forwardly. The inner opposed faces of clamping blocks 58 are slotted as at 60. The lower end 62 of each slot inclines downwardly and forwardly below the upper edge of the end wall 14. The upper end of each slot comprises a downwardly facing flat shoulder 64 which is slightly non-parallel relative to the beveled faces 56 at the opposite ends of cover plate 36. Shoulders 64 taper downwardly and forwardly relative to beveled faces 56 at an angle of about 3 to 4. Beveled faces 56 are preferably inclined at an angle of about 45 to the horizontal. The overhanging ends 38 of cover plate 36 are received within slots 60 and the cover is held in place by a pair of wedges 66, one at each end of the ladle. The bottom faces 68 of wedges 66 are adapted to engage the beveled face portions 56 on cover plate 36 and the upper face portions 70 of wedges 66 are tapered for co-planar engagement with the tapered shoulders 64 on wedge blocks 58.

From the above descroption it will be apparent that the cover 34 can be secured and tightly mounted over the open upper end of ladle 10 by resting the cover on the upper edges of the end walls 14 and rear wall 18 of the ladle. The front edge of the cover can be readily distinguished from the rear edge because beveled face 52 extends the full length of the rear edge of top plate 36 whereas the beveled face portions 56 are located at the ends only of the front edge of the top plate. After the cover is placed on the ladle, it can be shifted rearwardly to ihterengage the beveled faces 50, 52 at the rear side of the ladle. Wedges 66 are then inserted in the portion of slots 60 extending above the beveled face portions 56 on the cover. Wedges 66 are driven downwardly and forwardly, by hammer blows for example. As the wedges 66 are driven downwardly and forwardly, the effect of beveled faces 56 and beveled faces 50, 52 is to tightly press and clamp cover 34 on the upper edges of rear wall 18 and end walls 14. With cover 34 in this position the likelihood of lead leaking out of the ladle around the side and rear edges of cover 34 when a charge of lead is pumped ifitothe' ladle is eliminatedf'The lead pumped into the ladle assembly flows around bafile 32 and the excess flows over the pouring lip 30.

When it is desired to remove the cover from the ladle to clean or otherwise service the ladle, all that is necessary is to tap the forward ends of wedges 66 so as to drive them upwardly and rearwardly. This can be easily accomplished even if the cover has been sealed on the ladle for a relatively long time and even though dross or dirt may be accumulated around the cover or within the ladle. Thus, the ladle construction of the present invention enables the cover to be removed quickly and without the need of any special tools.

I claim:

1. An overflow type ladle comprising a receptacle having a bottom wall, end walls and front and back walls, said end walls and back wall having upper edge portions lying in a common plane, a cover on said receptacle supported on said upper edge portions of said end and back walls and means for maintaining the cover in tightly seated relation with said upper edge portions comprising means forming downwardly facing shoulder means on said receptacle spaced above said cover and tapered wedge means slidably engaged between said shoulder means and said cover and urging the cover downwardly against said upper edge portions of the back and end walls, said shoulder means comprising a bracket on each end wall, each bracket extending upwardly above said cover and having a shoulder thereon which overlies and is spaced above a corresponding end portion of the cover, said wedge means comprising tapered pins driven between said shoulders and the end portions of the cover, means on said back wall engaging the cover along its rear edge and adapted to press the cover downwardly tightly against said upper edge portions in response to movement of the cover in a rearward direction, said tapered pins being inclined to the plane of the cover and adapted to apply pressure to the front edge portion of the cover in a downward and rearward direction.

2. An overflow type ladle comprising a receptacle having a bottom wall, two opposite end walls, a back wall and a front wall, said back and end walls having upper edge portions lying in a common plane, a cover seated on said upper edge portions, said cover having a beveled shoulder portion at the rear edge thereof and an oppositely beveled shoulder portion at the front edge thereof, means at the rear upper edge of the receptacle engaging the beveled shoulder portion at the rear edge of the cover and urging the cover d ownwardly against said upper edge portions in response to movement of the cover in a rearward direction, means adjacent the front edge of the receptacle forming shoulder means spaced from and juxtaposed above the beveled shoulder portions at the front edge of the cover and tapered pin means driven downwardly between said shoulder means at the 'front edge of the cover and receptacle for applying a downward and rearward force on the front portion ofthe cover. a 1

3. A ladle as called for irr-.claim 2 wherein the firstmentioned beveled portion extends downwardly and rearwardly on the cover at an angle of about 45 to the horizontal along substantially the entire length of the edge of the cover, said bevel engaging means comprising a bar on the back wall of the receptacle extending the full length thereof, said bar having a beveled portion spaced above the upper edge portion of the back wall and in substantially co-planar engagement with the beveled portion at the rear edge of the cover.

4. A ladle as called for in claim 3 wherein the beveled portion at the front edge of the cover comprises a beveled face adjacent each end of the cover at the front edge thereof, said last-mentioned beveled faces being inclined in a direction downwardly and forwardly, said shoulder forming means comprising a bracket on each end wall having a downwardly facing shoulder thereon overlying the beveled face at the front edge of the cover, said tapered pin means extending downwardly and forwardly between the shoulder on each bracket and the beveled face at opposite ends of the front edge of the cover.

5. A ladle as called for in claim 3 wherein the front edge of the cover is spaced rearwardly of the front wall of the receptacle.

6. A ladle as called for in claim 5 wherein the cover is formed with a depending portion which is spaced inwardly of the end and rear edges of the cover to define a peripheral lip on the cover which is seated on the upper edge portions of the back and end walls of the receptacle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1913 Whalen 292- 2s7x 1/1941 Hackley 292 2s7 X 

1. AN OVERFLOW TYPE LADLE COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, END WALLS AND FRONT AND BACK WALLS, SAID END WALLS AND BACK WALL HAVING UPPER EDGE PORTIONS LYING IN A COMMON PLANE, A COVER ON SAID RECEPTACLE SUPPORTED ON SAID UPPER EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID END AND BACK WALLS AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE COVER IN TIGHTLY SEATED RELATION WITH SAID UPPER EDGE PORTIONS COMPRISING MEANS FORMING DOWNWARDLY FACING SHOULDER MEANS ON SAID RECEPTACLE SPACED ABOVE SAID COVER AND TAPERED WEDGE MEANS SLIDABLY ENGAGED BETWEEN SAID SHOULDER MEANS AND SAID COVER AND URGING THE COVER DOWNWARDLY AGAINST SAID UPPER EDGE PORTIONS OF THE BACK AND END WALLS, SAID SHOULDER MEANS COMPRISING A BRACKET ON EACH END WALL, EACH BRACKET EXTENDING UPWARDLY ABOVE SAID COVER AND HAVING A SHOULDER THEREON WHICH OVERLIES AND IS SPACED ABOVE A CORRESPONDING END PORTION OF THE COVER, SAID WEDGE MEANS COMPRISING TAPERED PINS DRIVEN BETWEEN SAID SHOULDERS AND THE END PORTIONS OF THE COVER, MEANS ON SAID BACK WALL ENGAGING THE COVER ALONG ITS REAR EDGE AND ADAPTED TO PRESS THE COVER DOWNWARDLY TIGHTLY AGAINST SAID UPPER EDGE PORTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF THE COVER IN A REARWARD DIRECTION, SAID TAPERED PINS BEING INCLINED TO THE PLANE OF THE COVER AND ADAPTED TO APPLY PRESSURE TO THE FRONT EDGE PORTION OF THE COVER IN A DOWNWARD AND REARWARD DIRECTION. 